While working on Assignment 1 I took a photo that inspired me to think about extending the idea to encompass the assignment in full, 5-7 portrait images of an individual. That then caused me to look for other image makers who have done something similar. This is what I have so far encountered.
Annie Leibovitz is a well-known portrait photographer who has just opened a new exhibit of work, Pilgrimage, focusing on objects that define important people, many of them historical. She notes here the importance of sometimes shooting close, something she never does with people, in order to capture details that define a person, such as the fabric, stitching and buttons on a dress worn by Emily Dickinson. This was also her first project shot digital.
In Portraits Without People, Robert Weingarten employs a compositing technique to create collages of symbols redolent of personalities. The symbols and motifs were chosen in collaboration with the subject and then shot specifically for the portrait. The vivid colors are a bit too kitschy and much of the symbolism too obvious, such as a Bible and a crucifix for Billy Graham, a popular American Christian minister. Others images are dense and require a bit of effort to read. The Alice Waters portrait for example, appears to made up of at least eight separate images, perhaps more.
Chris Buck is a genuine celebrity photographer who in his latest project presents spaces inhabited by these luminaries. Where Leibovitz chased after subjects long gone and who can be captured now only through artifacts, and Weingarten engaged his at a distance, first through correspondence and then through symbolic objects, Buck has chosen to purposely omit his living subjects (many of whom he has a working relationship with) in order to make a statement about celebrity and his role in selling it. I discussed Buck’s Presence previously here.
If anyone reading this knows of any other photographers with similar projects, I would be very happy to hear from you.
#
No comments:
Post a Comment